Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2024 which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 6th to 9th May, is set to welcome twice the number of Chinese exhibitors and travel professionals, compared with its 2019 show.

According to research by Oxford Economics, outbound travel from China is estimated to almost double this year, compared with 2023 and will only be 22 percent below its peak pre-pandemic numbers of 155 million tourists in 2019, who spent over $250 billion overseas.

Full recovery is expected to materialise in 2025, with the Middle East being the first region globally to recover its Chinese inbound market.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market commented, “Last year, some analysts were predicting that the Chinese outbound market would recover to around six million per month by the summer of 2023, driven in part by the pent-up demand, especially from young, affluent Chinese.

“However, that rebound wasn’t as great as many tourism professionals had hoped for and now analysts are confident that this year, we could see Chinese visitor numbers double year-on-year, with major destinations in the Middle East recovering quicker than any other internationally, especially for luxury travel.

“That sentiment has also been borne out by the latest spending data for the 2024 Chinese New Year. According to the Chinese payment platform, Alipay, the number of Chinese overseas transactions was 7 percent higher than those recorded in 2019.

“The most popular Middle East destinations include Dubai, Saudi’s AlUla, Egypt and Jordan - Dubai alone welcomed more than one million Chinese visitors in 2019,” said Curtis.

Chinese participation at ATM 2024 is expected to more than double compared with ATM 2019, with new exhibitors that include private sector companies such as Heytrip International, Jiangsu Intelligence Equipment Co, Flightroutes24 Travel Company Ltd, Feeyo Technology and anticipated destination representation from Macao Government Tourism Office, China Cultural Centre in the UAE and the Hongkong Tourism Board.

In line with this year’s show theme ‘Empowering Innovation: Transforming Travel Through Entrepreneurship’, other highlights at the 31st edition of ATM include entrepreneurship-focused sessions as well as dedicated sessions for other key source markets such as India and the Americas. As well as showcasing a range of event features based around the theme, informative content will be delivered across the Global Stage and the new Future Stage at ATM 2024, led by respected industry keynote speakers, and thought leaders.